Phil Donahue Stands Up For Free Speech In A Time Of War

Phil Donahue offered some real balance to Hannity & Colmes last night (4/8/08) -- not just as an eloquent voice of opposition to the war in Iraq but as a strong advocate for the right to speak out against it. Donahue told FOX News: We sent thousands of Americans to foreign battlefields to protect our way of life which includes free speech. If we're not gonna use it when we need it the most, stop wasting their blood. Don't send any morel If you're not gonna use it, it's already lost. We'll find a Mussolini who'll tell us what's good for us." With video.

Here's the entire quote which came at the end of the first part of Donahue's interview:

You shouldn't shush a nation when a president decides he's gonna go to war. If we ever need the First Amendment, we need it then. We have people honestly believing that if a president calls a war, you have to shut up and sing. That is not the nation my mother raised me to pledge my allegiance to. We should speak out. That's when we need it the most. And, by the way... We sent thousands of Americans to foreign battlefields to protect our way of life which includes free speech. If we're not gonna use it when we need it the most, stop wasting their blood. Don't send any morel. If you're not gonna use it, it's already lost. We'll find a Mussolini who'll tell us what's good for us.

Amen... and why can't the Democrats ever be so straightforward and effective? Sean Hannity even forgot his usual claim that criticism of the war undermines the troops and emboldens the enemy.